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Stemma di Modica

Sicily · Ragusa

Modica

A vertical Baroque city in the Hyblean Mountains, rebuilt from the 1693 earthquake and home to a chocolate recipe brought from Aztec Mexico.

Known for

  • CIOCCOLATO DI MODICA

    Cold-worked chocolate kept under forty degrees, sugar crystals never dissolved, the only chocolate in Europe holding a PGI mark.

  • VAL DI NOTO UNESCO

    One of eight late-Baroque towns rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake and inscribed together on the UNESCO list in 2002.

  • GAGLIARDI'S DUOMO

    San Giorgio at the top of its 250-step staircase, Rosario Gagliardi's signature work and the postcard image of the upper town.

  • RAGUSANO

    The commune lies inside the Ragusano DOP production zone.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

  • J13°
  • F15°
  • M15°
  • A18°
  • M24°
  • J30°
  • J33°
  • A32°
  • S28°
  • O23°
  • N18°
  • D15°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Modica sits on the southern flank of the Hyblean Mountains, threaded through two gorges that split the town into Modica Alta on the ridge and Modica Bassa in the valley below. The 1693 earthquake killed roughly three thousand people here and erased the medieval town. What stands today was built across the eighteenth century by a generation of architects, Rosario Gagliardi above all, who designed the Duomo di San Giorgio at the top of its 250-step staircase.

The Duomo di San Pietro answers it from the lower town. Both are part of the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto, listed by UNESCO in 2002. The other Modica export is older.

Cioccolato di Modica is still made by the cold-working method Spanish settlers learned from the Aztecs, the cocoa mass never melted past forty degrees, the sugar crystals left grainy. It is the only chocolate in Europe with a PGI mark.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Modica’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

How to get there

From Catania (CTA), about 1h 40m by car.

By car from the centre of Palermo 4 hours.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming by train into Siracusa? Modica is about 1 hour away by road.

Every town within reach of Catania airport.

Modica — photo 1
Modica — photo 2

What to see

  • Duomo di San Giorgio

    Rosario Gagliardi's Baroque cathedral in Modica Alta, three-tiered façade rising above a 250-step staircase, built between 1702 and 1738.

  • Duomo di San Pietro

    Mother church of Modica Bassa, fourteenth-century foundation rebuilt in Baroque after the 1693 earthquake, twelve statues of the Apostles on the entrance stair.

  • Modica Alta and Modica Bassa

    Two halves of the old town, upper ridge and lower valley, connected by stairways and the long Corso Umberto I that follows the former riverbed.

  • Castello dei Conti

    Hilltop fortress of the Counts of Modica with the eighteenth-century clock tower that marks the city's skyline, partly rebuilt after seismic damage.

  • Cava d'Ispica

    Limestone gorge with prehistoric rock-cut tombs and Byzantine cave dwellings, ten kilometers from the town along the Modica-Ispica road.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Modica fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • Fattoria delle TorriRistorante

    Fattoria delle Torri carries two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Lorenzo RutaRistorante

    Lorenzo Ruta holds two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Radici – L'Osteria di AccursioTrattoria

    Two Gambero Rosso prawns for Radici – L'Osteria di Accursio, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • DabbannaRistorante

    Dabbanna has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.

Signature dish

Cioccolato di ModicaSweet

Grainy chocolate worked cold so the sugar never melts, a method carried from the Aztecs through Spanish Sicily.

See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

  • ChocoModicafood festival

    usually held across October and November. sagritaly.com

Living here

  • Population 53,503
  • Commuter belti
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Catania, 1 h 40 min drive
  • Regional capital Palermo, 4 h 2 min drive

Common questions

What is Modica known for?
Modica is a vertical Baroque city in the Hyblean Mountains, rebuilt from the 1693 earthquake and home to a chocolate recipe brought from Aztec Mexico.
Where is Modica?
Modica is a comune in the province of Ragusa, in Sicily, at 296 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Modica?
Catania (CTA), about 1h 40m by car.
Can you get to Modica without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Palermo to Modica?
About 4 hours by car.
When is the best time to visit Modica?
Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Modica?
Yes. ChocoModica. October is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Modica?
Monreale, Ragusa and Corleone.
How many people live in Modica?
53,503 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 296 m
  • Population: 53,503
  • Surface area: 292.37 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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